A blow to your face near your mouth in an accident or while playing a contact sport can be dangerous. If that happens, please come to see us at your Epping Dentist as soon as you can. One of our friendly dentists can then examine your teeth in detail to ensure there is no damage to any of your teeth – or their roots.

The sooner we can diagnose a cracked tooth, the better, as there is more chance then that the tooth can be saved, rather than extracted.

Sometimes, you may not realise that one of your teeth was cracked, as the damage may have occurred below your gum line, where it is not visible. It’s possible for just the tooth enamel surrounding the root to be cracked, or for the enamel plus the pulp inside to be cracked.

The cracked tooth may be displaced, or it may wobble a little – or it may remain stationary with an invisible injury.

At your Epping Dentist, we will ascertain precisely where the crack has occurred, the exact nature of the injury, and then advise you about possible treatments, which will revolve around either retaining the tooth or extracting it. If the best option is to retain the cracked tooth, we may have to stabilise it while healing takes place.

If the pulp, the sensitive living part of the root, becomes infected, there is more chance that the tooth will require orthodontic treatment or extraction.

The good news is that we can save cracked teeth and routinely do! Healing takes time – the same way that broken legs and arms take time to heal. In the meantime, your friendly Epping Dentist will check it regularly to ensure everything is proceeding correctly, and that there’s no infection in the root canal.

It is much better to avoid the chance of cracking a tooth in contact sports by wearing a properly fitted mouthguard. Prevention is much preferable to cure! So please check that all the youngsters in your family who play contact sport are appropriately protected.